All That Matters
by Swagiana Grande
Summary: "You liked lots of things. Puppies, rainbows, unicorns, bubbles, red velvet cupcakes, the list went on... You also liked girls. But that one was a secret." / Cat has been hiding her feelings for Jade for almost 2 years. Will she ever be able to tell her how she truly feels? And what happens when Jade's dad learns her biggest secret? / Cade one-shot. :D R&R please! xoxo


**A/N Guess who wrote a new Cade fic? :3 ME! :D Hehe. I just typed this up a couple hours ago. I like it. :) Hope you do too! Please review! xoxo**

It was a Sunday afternoon, and although it was raining slightly, you were riding your bike through your neighborhood without a care in the world. You liked bikes. You liked lots of things. Puppies, rainbows, unicorns, bubbles, red velvet cupcakes, the list went on… You also liked girls. But that one was a secret.

It had all started back in 5th grade, when your parents were on their second honeymoon, and your brother (who wasn't crazy at the time) was left to take care of you for the weekend. He hadn't really planned much to keep you entertained, so he ended up buying a few movies for you to watch. One of them was a musical called RENT, and although it wasn't exactly G-rated, your brother didn't care. Besides, he said that you'd love all of the music in it (which you did).

You didn't understand half of it, but one thing that you were able to make sense of was that Joanne and Maureen liked each other. And not just a friendly sort of like, but a romantic sort of like. You had never seen two girls like each other in that way before, and naturally, you were curious. So, the second that the movie was over, you attacked your brother with questions.

He basically told you that it was perfectly normal and okay, and that you'd probably meet somebody someday who was the exact same way. You just never thought that it would be you.

Not to say that you realized it right away. It took you a few years for you to understand that you were attracted to girls, not boys. It was a gradual process. But when you started to enjoy your boyfriend's kisses less and less, and found yourself thinking about how pretty certain girls were, you figured it out. You were gay.

But you never told anyone. You were too afraid of what they would think. Mommy always said that girls were supposed to like boys, and boys were supposed to like girls, and if they didn't, then bad things would happen to them. You didn't really believe that, but you still didn't want to make your mom mad. Your father would probably kill you if he knew. He was always very judgmental when it came to things like this, and you didn't want him to turn against you. Your brother probably wouldn't care, but he was off in a mental institution in another state, and you hadn't talked to him in almost a year.

You couldn't even begin to imagine how your friends would react.

Robbie would be heart-broken. Even you weren't stupid enough to realize that he had always had a major crush on you. You just didn't want to commit to anything, because you knew that you'd end up breaking his heart, and you didn't want to do that. But telling him this would probably break his heart even more.

Andre would be confused. He had always thought of you as the cute little sister he never had, and you didn't want him to instead think of you as a whore. You liked how protective he was of you, and you didn't want to lose your innocence over something like this.

Beck would act calm, but you knew that inside he would be disappointed in you. He was almost as protective of you as Andre was, and every time that you scored the lead in a play, earned the solo in a musical, or even just got a good grade on a test, he would tell you how proud of you he was. You didn't want to let him down.

Tori would think you were joking. She always treated you like a baby who couldn't understand things for herself, and therefore wouldn't believe you. She would also probably end up ignoring you, because she would think that you had a crush on her. You didn't, though. All the lead roles had just gotten to her head, and she kind of expected everyone to love her. And despite her arrogance, you did. But not like that.

Jade was who you were most worried about. You had had a crush on her for almost 2 years, but you could never tell her. At least now Beck was out of the way, so you had a chance. But not a very big one. You never really intended on telling her your true feelings towards her, but you still didn't want her to hate you. And you were afraid that if you told her the truth about your sexuality, she would.

So here you were, in your junior year of high school, wanting more than anything to tell everyone the truth, but knowing that if you did, you'd be made fun of, judged, and shunned by everyone that you had thought cared about you.

As you continued riding down your street, heading back towards your house, you noticed an unfamiliar car parked in your driveway. _Daddy probably just has company again_, you thought to yourself. But when you got closer, you realized that both your dad and mom's cars were nowhere to be seen. Now you were kind of freaked out.

But despite your better judgment, you decided to go into your house anyways. The second that you flung your front door open, you locked eyes with a crying Jade. She was sitting at your dining room table, staring at…. WAIT… CRYING!? In the many years that you and Jade had been friends, you had never seen her cry before. She looked pitiful. There was black make-up smeared all over her white porcelain skin, her hair was a mess, her eyes were red and puffy, and there was practically a puddle of tears on your table where her head had previously been laying.

"Oh my god, Jade," you said sadly as you rushed over to her, taking a seat next to her and wrapping her in your arms. "What happened?"

The dark-haired girl sniffled a few times, choking on her words. She obviously wanted to say something, but couldn't, so you just held her there and let her cry while whispering comforting words to her. A few minutes passed, and finally she settled down and was able to speak. "It's about my dad…" she said with a sigh.

Suddenly thoughts of the worst things that Jade's father could have possibly done to her dashed through your head, and you clenched your fists tightly together waiting for her to continue. But nothing could have prepared you for what she said next. "I told him I was gay… And he kicked me out," she said quietly. The tears began to trail down her cheeks again as she leaned her head into your chest and sobs began to rack through her body.

At that moment, the whole room seemed to freeze. Jade was gay. Jade West, the girl who you were in love with, was gay. Your heart skipped 50 beats, and for a minute, you even forgot about the second part of what she had said and the reason she was currently sitting in your lap crying. But once you remembered, you were zapped back to reality, and realized that you were being selfish.

The important person at the moment was Jade, not you. Regardless of how much you just wanted to kiss her and tell her how you felt about her right then and there, now was not the time for it. Right now, you needed to focus on Jade and making her feel better.

You looked down sadly at the sobbing girl. "Shhhh. Jade, please stop crying. It'll all be okay. We'll find a place for you to stay, and if that doesn't work out, you can move in here," you told her softly, even though you knew that your parents probably wouldn't allow it. "And about your father, he's wonky. There's nothing wrong with you. You're perfectly normal, and anyone who can't see that is a gank."

At this, Jade lifted her head and looked at you for the first time since she had crawled into your arms. Even with smudges of black all over her face, she still looked beautiful. "You really think so?" she said with a smile so small that if you had blinked, you probably would have missed it. But you saw it, and it made you smile too.

"I know so," you replied happily. "You're the most amazing person I've ever met, and the fact that you're gay doesn't change anything. Now, how about you stay here for awhile? We can do whatever you'd like. I'll even let you watch scary movies," you said with a grin.

Jade smirked. "Alright. I have the new Scissoring movie in my purse. I was actually thinking about coming over here later before this all happened. Now that I'm here, I might as well stay," she said as she stood up to go get her purse out of her car.

When she got to the front door, you realized something. "Wait…how did you even get in my house?" you asked, confused. She chuckled a little and pulled a pair of scissors out of her pocket, swinging them around. Your mouth formed an 'o' shape.

Once she was out the door, you sighed with contentment. "I love you, Jade West" you whispered dreamily.

An hour later, the movie was almost over. You hated scary movies (The Lion King was about as violent as it got for you), but Jade had seen how scared you were, and pulled you tightly to her to comfort you, so you couldn't complain.

As the end credits rolled up the screen, Jade turned to you. "So how did you like it?"

You shrugged a little. "It was alright I guess… Not really my style. I liked the baby rabbit…till he got stabbed." You said the last part with a sigh and furrowed your brows, which made Jade chuckle.

She walked over to the DVD player and ejected the disc, then plopped back down on the couch. "Thanks for everything today, Cat. It really means more than you think. I thought people wouldn't accept me for how I am, but it's nice to know that I have at least one person on my side. To be honest, I was really scared that everyone was gonna hate me…" she trailed off.

"I know how you feel…" you whispered. She wasn't meant to hear it, but somehow she did, because when you looked up at her, her facial expression was very confused. You quickly corrected yourself. "I mean, I know how you feel about being afraid of people hating you. Lots of people get irritated by my hair being so bright. They're afraid it'll blind them." You can tell by the look on her face that she's not buying it, but it's the best you could do. You quickly try to change the subject. "I'm really happy you told me, Jade," you say sincerely.

She smiles a little. God, you love that smile. She doesn't use it often, but when she does, it's contagious. Her teeth are so pearly white, and her pink lips form a perfect curve, and for the millionth time in the past 2 years, you think about what it would be like to kiss those perfect pink lips. Except now, circumstances are different. Now, Jade likes girls. Now, she's only 6 inches away from you. And now, before your brain even has time to register what it's doing, your face is slowly getting closer to hers.

Before you know it, your lips are crashing together. It takes a few seconds, but suddenly you realize what you're doing, and quickly pull away. Jade's eyes are wide, not necessarily in a bad way, just a surprised way. The taste of her lips still lingers on yours. _Vanilla_, you think to yourself, and smile on the inside. But on the outside, you begin to cry. Because for all you know, you've just ruined everything. Your friendship is over, Jade hates you, and any chance that you had with her is gone.

Jade however, starts smiling. And when you realize that, your tears subside. "You're not mad at me?" you ask fearfully.

She shakes her head and looks into your eyes. "The girl I love just kissed me. How could I be mad?" she asks softly, and for a second, you swear you're going to faint.

Jade. Loves. You. YOU! Out of everyone in the world, Jade loves you, Cat Valentine! Once your brain and heart are functioning properly again, you fling yourself into Jade's arms. "I love you too, Jadey!" you squeal with delight. "I always have, and I always will," you whisper lovingly.

And in that moment, it didn't matter how you were going to tell your parents. It didn't matter where Jade was going to stay. It didn't matter how your friends would react. It didn't matter what anyone else said about you. All that mattered was you and Jade. And nothing could ever change that.

**A/N Soooo, did I do okay? :) I hope so. Please review, whether you liked it or not. Constructive criticism is appreciated. Compliments make me happy. Suggestions are great too. Hope you enjoyed! xoxo**


End file.
